


Wakandan days

by The_silent_smile



Series: The not so bad life of the Avengers AKA the few times I wrote fluff [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Bucky Barnes-centric, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, I Don't Even Know, M/M, POV Bucky Barnes, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Steve Rogers Feels, Wakanda (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-02 14:38:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19200901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_silent_smile/pseuds/The_silent_smile
Summary: He woke up like he had done in memories, same yet different.His arm wrapped around a now way bigger frame as he watched the other's chest rise and sink in a steady rhythm.Basking in the scent of them together.It was different from what he remembered. The scent heavier, hanging in the air like a thick mist instead of the gentle blanket that it had formed before everything, before the war and the fights and the pain.-Or-Bucky is in Wakanda and Steve comes to visit





	Wakandan days

Time had passed since he'd been put into the ice again, willingly this time around.  
He'd noticed as soon as he'd opened his eyes and Princess Shuri stood beside his bed. Her hair was different and she seemed to have grown a bit as she greeted him with a gentle smile.

"Hello Mr Barnes, how are you feeling? Better, I assume?"

Bucky snorted at that as he slowly sat up, rubbing his stiff muscles and moving his fingers to get the cold out.

"Yeah a lot actually, and your highness you can call me Bucky, I think after all the things you must've had to do to unscramble my brains were on that level."

"Only if you call me Shuri instead of highness, coloniser."

They both smiled at each other before he looked down again, staring at his hand as he let his mind wander to the places that had been locked away for years beforehand.

And then it travelled a little further and suddenly he was drowning in memories, waking up in the morning to tangled sheets and tired morning kisses while his arms wrapped around a fragile frame, a head full of blond hair pressed into his shoulder as he basked in the scent of them together.

The feeling of having his first good cup of coffee in months after he'd saved up for them to be able to afford as much as a small cafe date. Of hands linked under the table where none could see and of a thumb rubbing over his knuckles as they talked.

The feeling of warmth hitting his face as soon as he opened the door, his cheeks having gone red from the ice-cold wind hitting them on his way home, of home when he was greeted with the image of the blond sitting on the windowsill, sketchbook in hand, completely enveloped in his work, of the way his heart sung when his lover lifted his head, the neutral expression changing into a sunbeam smile as he saw who it was that had caused the sudden cold swoop of air, of holding him close and kissing him softly.

"Holy shit," he whispered quietly, suddenly being pulled out of his thoughts as the princess laughed again.  
"Yes, you might be hit with a lot of memories you have not yet been able to get to, which one has you so shocked white wolf?"

White wolf... He decided he liked the nickname.  
"I-It's a lot of different ones but all about the same thing. Or the same person in this case...  
How could I have forgotten about him?"

The last part was said quietly, his voice breaking at the end of the sentence, Shuri laying a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"Our minds are strange things White wolf. But Important is that you have all of it back now and that it belongs to you and nobody else."

"Yeah..."

***

"Princess, when can I see Steve again?"

"Oh my god. Brother, why doesn't this white boy have a return policy? He's asked for the captain nine times today and we haven't even had lunch yet!"

T'Challa smirked at her, which earned him a hit to the head with a rolled up document the Princess had laying around.

"No, but really when can I?"

Bucky was sitting on the table he had first woken up on. Shuri taking measurements for the new prosthetic she was going to make him. Not that he'd use it really, he'd told them they could keep it and give it to him when needed, that he'd be able to get by with only one for now.

"Ugh fine you whiny child. I'll ask miss Romanoff if she can set him up with Skype so the two of you can talk even when away from each other. You're so clingy I'm surprised you haven't tried to escape yet to go be with him."

Bucky just smiled, not knowing what in the world 'Skype' was but happy to try it if it meant he'd be able to see Steve.

***

Only two days later and Shuri came to his room in the castle to put a laptop in front of him and tell him that he could finally stop complaining to her now.

Bucky, hair tied into a messy bun and looking all kinds of confused, couldn't help but smile as the screen showed Steve, staring not directly into the camera but somewhere near it and smiling too.

How Shuri had gotten this video he didn't know, but he was thankful none the less.

"I love you," he whispered, knowing fair well that the recording of Steve or Steve himself couldn't hear him, but he hadn't been able to say it in so long that he would do it now with every chance he got.

Taking all of that into account, he nearly screamed as the until that point silent recording of Steve, perked up and he heard a soft 'I love you too' coming from the laptop's speakers as a response.

"Wait... Holy shit. Steve?"  
"Buck? You can actually hear me right? Do I need to talk louder?"  
"No. No no god no this... You can hear me? What the fuck man this is amazing."

"Buck no offence but Shuri just recalibrated your brain and this is amazing?"  
"I mean that's pretty cool too. But I can talk to you now so that tops everything."

"if you hadn't been so pressing you could've done that in a few weeks in person yaknow."  
"Wait she told you 'bout that didn't she? That little snitch. Anyway, I missed ya so what gives."

"I missed you too Buck."

They fell into a comfortable silence, just staring at one another for a good minute before they felt the need to break the silence again.

"So you remember everything then?"

James looked down at that, well aware of his cheeks heating up a bit and just hoping that Steve's connection was just as shitty as his, the pixels able to hide the slight red that was visible on his cheeks.

"Yeah. Everything."  
"You remember-... You remember us?"  
"What kind of us you talking about Stevie?"

He knew what he meant. Of course, he did. It had been keeping him up a lot recently, him simply digging through the memories while laying in bed, eyes closed as he tried to relive them again. To understand them better.  
But he needed to hear it from Steve.

But Steve was careful.

"Never mind that. We can start over, kinda have to now don't we? We both came out of all of this as different people than when we went in, might as well build our relationship up again."

If relationship meant platonic or something more, something deeper, he didn't yet dare to ask. But the way Steve smiled at him as if trying to tell him that everything was okay, was comforting and send butterflies coursing through his stomach. And he smiled back in the hope he created at least a smither of the same feeling in Steve's stomach.

They talked about nothing in particular for hours on end after that, Steve eventually having to disconnect because they had to move hiding spots, the both of them fiddling with the buttons until they found the 'end call' one. They were still laughing about their limited knowledge of the new world and its features as they said their goodbyes and Steve's face left his screen, though leaving him with the warm happy feeling hours after.

***

Three weeks later and Steve was sitting in the grass underneath the tree that stood near the little house he had gotten from T'Challa after sharing his discomfort with living in such a high-quality home without actually doing anything to earn it.

Four goats surrounded the supersoldier, headbutting him curiously as Bucky watched, leaning against the clay wall of the little house and holding the youngest of the five in total.

"Do they have names?"  
"I'm offended that you'd ask"  
"So they do?"  
"... Yes."

Steve grinned at him as one of the goats decided his lap was the perfect place to take a nap on, The little goat in Bucky's arms had fallen asleep a long time ago as well, it's warm belly moving up and down in a quick but seemingly calm rhythm.

" What's this one called?"  
Steve asked while gently stroking the goat's fur, it's eyes dropping a little more each time until it simply rested its head on Steve's knee and closed them completely.

"That's Steve."  
"You names a goat after me?"  
"I had to. He takes after you, always doing stupid shit like climbing trees and getting stuck, leaving it up to me to save his ass."  
"Ey that's mean. Though I guess it is a fitting name then. Little Steve..."

The goat somehow seemed to be aware of them talking about it as it made a small noise before laying down fully again, relaxing against its name pals leg.

"And this one?"  
"That's Sam. But I mostly call him 'asshat'."  
"Fair enough."

Bucky stood from his place against the wall and sat next to Steve carefully, making sure to not wake little Natascha as he sat down again.

"Hey"  
"Hey"  
"Stevie can we... Can we talk about us?"  
"What about us?"  
"I-the memories. They're so lively but not quite lifelike. I miss it, is what I'm trying to say.  
Everything was so simple back then Stevie, even if we had to hide it we were together. And-and I feel like some of that is gone now."

Steve just smiled at him sadly, taking one hand out of the fur of the sleeping creature on his lap to carefully cup James' cheek.

" I know what you mean Buck. But maybe we can reclaim that part. It doesn't have to be complicated you know? I can stay here with you for a while, come visit as much as possible."

"But everything is so different now. Us, the world. It's so confusing."

Steve kept quiet at that. But his thumb brushed over Bucky's cheekbone affectionately, and everything became a little easier.

"May I...?"  
"Go ahead."

After he'd said the word, Steve caught his lips in an achingly soft kiss, the both of them being careful. So very careful, tiptoeing onto this familiar but new ground, testing what was okay.

After just a few seconds they pulled away again, Steve smiling, Bucky nervous and panicking slightly until Steve wrapped his arms around him.

The goats both woke up, giving a little yell before jumping away. But  
Bucky's world narrowed down, focusing on Steve, on the scent of them together and the thumb brushing over his knuckles.

"This okay?"  
"More than."  
"Can we-?"  
"God yes"

***

He woke up like he had done in memories, same yet different.

His arm wrapped around a now way bigger frame as he watched the other's chest rise and sink in a steady rhythm.  
Basking in the scent of them together.

It was different from what he remembered. The scent heavier, hanging in the air like a thick mist instead of the gentle blanket that it had formed before everything, before the war and the fights and the pain.

But that didn't mean he didn't like it.  
Their hands intertwined, his reaching over Steve's chest to be able to do so, little Natascha curled up just a few inches away from them, her head resting on the duffle bag Steve had taken with him, one of the cords falling over her head, winding around one of the small horns that had yet to grow out.

"Hmm, morning Buck."  
"Morning Stevie. How was your sleep?"  
"The best one I've had in years"  
"Yeah... Me too."

The fell into silence again, Steve's thumb running over his partner's knuckles in a nonexisting pattern, Bucky kissing the side of Steve's head before hurrying his head into the other's neck. Smiling gently.

"You comfortable back there, doll?"

Doll.

The nickname felt so familiar, so them that he suddenly got emotional, a lump forming in his throat making it difficult to talk, so instead he tapped Steve's shoulder, silently asking him to turn around and, once he did, kissing him softly, hand on the back of his neck while Steve's other hand crept around his waist again, locking them both together once more.

His boyfriend hummed against his lips, making them curve into a smile as he pulled away.  
"What did I do that made me get as lucky as ending up with you, doll?"

But Bucky couldn't respond, smiling up at his lover, eyes watering as memory after memory resurfaced, hitting him all at once.

Doll.

The nickname that he had used so many times on Steve that the stubborn kid started using it for him to annoy him.  
The nickname that, after a week or two or groans coming from Bucky each time his roommate had used it, had become a normal pet name, now used to describe him instead of Steve and show affection instead of mockery.

"Shit."  
Steve's hands left him as soon as he'd uttered the word, eyes quickly flooding with fear, drowning away the love that they had swam in mere seconds ago.

"What's wrong? Did-has something gone wrong? Did I do-"  
"Steve, I'm fine. I'm fine love I'm fine."  
"But why the-"  
"Memories seem to only resurface when they get triggered by certain things. I do remember them I just... don't realise it yet."

Steve seemed to get less tense at that, but the tension in his cramped up muscles only fully trickled away as James ran a hand through his hair before it settled on the back of Steve's neck again, something that had always grounded him in moments of panic.

"Steve. I'm okay."  
"Yeah. Yeah, I know doll."

Doll.

"I've always loved that nickname yaknow. You changed it from something people used to belittle women on the streets to something safe."  
"You used it on me for a while remember."  
"I do... I remember Stevie, I remember."

Another kiss and a few more minutes of Bucky being content to laying in Steve's arms for a while, happy that he was now able to do so without fearing he'd crush him, they finally got up, Bucky ushering the three goats that had managed to sneak inside while they were sleeping out of the little hut.

"You should really start training them, little Steve really is going to be worse then me if he keeps this up."  
"I managed you, I can manage a goat with the same attitude."

***

Steve was absent at the dinner table that evening, Shuri telling T'Challa to not worry about it as she removed one of the three plates set on the table.

Steve, she knew, had decided he'd rather stay with Bucky as long as possible.  
The two of them standing just outside of the hut, Steve's arms wrapped around his lover's waist as said man halfheartedly tried to shake him off, telling him the food would burn if he didn't let him go.

The sky tinted orange and light purple just as they sat down to eat, Steve looking up with a wide grin stretching over his face as he asked Bucky it was always this pretty, the slight stubble on his jaw scratching said man's shoulder and Steve kissed his neck.

"It really is pretty isn't it?" he said, looking up as well as they watched how slowly the sky turned a deep purple, stars appearing one at a time.

"I wasn't talking about the sky."  
"Steve Grand Rogers that is literally the cheesiest thing I've ever heard."  
"I'm sorry. I couldn't contain myself."  
"I'll forgive you this once... Under one condition."

Steve perked up, setting down his now empty bowl as he looked at Bucky, waiting for him to continue.  
Bucky just reached up and ran his fingers over the stubble on Steve's cheeks.

"Grow this out, will you? I've always wondered what you would look like with facial hair."  
"I'm not doing a goatee."  
"I got an actual goat with the same name so that's not needed, love. Just wanna see what it'd look like."

"Ugh fine. Only 'cause you asked nicely."  
"I can live with that."  
"Hey, Natascha really is your favourite isn't she?"

Bucky looked down after Stev had said that, quickly discovering the little goat snuggled up in the blanket he'd use if it would get too cold for them to be outside, not that they got cold anymore but it was a nice gesture.

"You got me there. Can't help but love the little thing."  
The small mammal, as if realising they were talking about her, walked over from her self-made nest and nuzzled Steve's leg a little before laying down on his feet.

"I can see why."  
"So beard?"  
"Jesus Buck fine. I'll grow it out."  
"Yes, victory is mine! Oh and Stevie?"  
"Hmm?"  
"I love you."

"... Love you too James."


End file.
